


Shocking Surprises

by RubyOnyx



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Graphic Description of Corpses, Humour?, Kissing, M/M, Nightmare, complicated romance, hand holding, missing person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-29 21:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13935864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyOnyx/pseuds/RubyOnyx
Summary: Set at an unspecified point in time where Liv is a zombie, Ravi and Major are fully human, and both know about Liv.Ravi has examined a corpse when he receives a message that tells him his father was supposed to arrive to America some days ago to meet him for the first time. There's a resemblance between the corpse and the image of his father right before boarding that was sent to him. Major comes down to the police station to comfort him as they wait until they're able to compare the two earpieces, and helps him search for answers. Meanwhile, Ravi searches for some other answers alone, namely the ones to the questions: Why the hell do I feel like this with my best friend? Why did I grab his hand? Additionally, Liv is on some unusual brains. // Major isn't in the first chapter, but appears and plays a big role after that. In progress.





	1. A Disturbing Resemblance

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing a fic in a looong time, and first time ever writing iZombie. Tried to keep it as accurate and in character as possible. About the archive warnings: the only one that could apply is 'Graphic depictions of violence,' but the only thing that happens is that a corpse that has been tortured is described. No actual violence is described as it happens (save for one slap and that one wasn't even with bad intentions or out of anger).
> 
> // English isn't my first language, so if you see any things that can be improved, please let me know!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravi and Liv are called down to examine a corpse. Ravi receives a text from his mother and notices a disturbing resemblance between the corpse and the image she sent him.

“Hey, Ravi, remember that old guy two weeks ago you thought was gross? Well, come take a look at _this_.” Liv’s voice sounded quite amused and that’s why Ravi knew he would _definitely_ think this was gross as well, if not worse. There had been a bit of a break between this new case and the last one - apparently people could resist violent urges when full of holiday spirit - and Liv had had to eat the brain of someone who had died the natural way. Someone who, as was found out upon investigation of his apartment, was fascinated by disgusting things rather than grossed out.  
  
Ravi didn’t know what it was, but he had found himself to be particularly disturbed by gross deaths the past month. Maybe it was because there had been so many. Instead of getting used to it, it only disturbed him more. Naturally, that was no fun when working down at the morgue, having to examine the weirdest bodies. “No, I- I think I’m good,” Ravi called out to Liv from a safe distance. He could see the body, but only from a distance.  
  
“Oh, come on,” Liv said. ”It’s not _that_ bad, I’m just messing with you.” With a desperate look, Ravi looked over to Liv, as if quietly saying, _Do I_ really _have to?_ When Clive entered the scene, Ravi knew he did, in fact, have to. Groaning internally, he made his way over to Liv and the body, and was soon joined by Clive. He avoided looking at the body for as long as he could.  
  
“What’ve we got here?” Clive asked, looking from Liv to Ravi. Liv looked as though it cost her a lot of effort to not fully burst out laughing.  
  
“I think Ravi can explain that best,” Liv said, faking a serious facial expression. Squinting, Ravi looked at her. She quickly stuck out her tongue and pretended to act innocent when Clive looked at her again.  
  
After a few seconds of mentally preparing himself, Ravi finally dared look at the body. _Oh, my God_. The body and face were covered in many infected, deep cuts. His teeth seemed to have been pulled out of his mouth, and upon closer inspection, it became clear that that had actually happened at least a few days before his death. Additionally, a chunk from his nose was missing, his eyelashes seemed to have been removed violently, and there were no eyebrows - only burns. “What’s-” he started when he saw something attached to the corpse’s ear.  
  
“Oh, yeah, _that_ ,” Liv said, interrupting him. “Oof. Bit of a shocker.” Ravi looked at Liv as though he wanted to be the cause of _two_ corpses at this crime scene. Liv, naturally, did nothing to help Ravi out. Therefore, Ravi bent down, intending to inspect whatever it was as quickly as possible. It turned out to be a regular earpiece, used for calling handsfree.  
  
Standing up straight again, Ravi shot Liv a glare and continued his inspection of the body. “Alright… Cuts were definitely made before death. Teeth have been pulled out some days before death as well… Can’t have been dead for more than twelve hours,” he concluded. “Cause of death is most likely the infections of the cuts.”  
  
“What’s that thing in his ear?” Clive inquired. It looked as though Clive, too, was suspicious of it because of what Liv had said.  
  
“Just an earpiece,” Ravi answered.  
  
“Alright, we’ll have tech take a look at it. See if you can find any more electronic devices on him when he’s in the morgue.” Clive scribbled down some notes, then turned to Liv. “Feeling hungry yet?”  
  


* * *

  
Even a day after Liv had eaten the new brain, Ravi still didn’t know whether it was better or not. It turned out the man had been a hoarder. Liv had formed quite the collection already in one of Ravi’s desk drawers. When he had been about to sneakily throw it away, Liv had come bursting in, yelling, “Don’t! Those are important!” But why exactly they were important, she could not say.  
  
It was already starting to get on Ravi’s nerves. All the horrible corpses he’d seen the past month were starting to affect his general mood. He really wished he could take some days off, have a nice vacation.  
  
When Liv had left to question some people that had been near the crime scene, Ravi found himself wandering over to the man’s drawer. Right before he could open it, a _ping_ coming from his phone notified him that he had received a text. With a grumble he opened the message. It was from his mother.  
  
M: Hi. honey. How are yo.u? Has your surpriise arrived yt,?  
 _  
I really need to teach her how to text properly_ , Ravi thought.  
  
R: Hi, mum. I’m doing great. What surprise?  
  
M: You know. Thee big one .  
  
R: Big? I don’t think anything big has arrived…  
  
M: He should hav been there for a few dayys alread.  
  
R: He? Who is ‘he’?  
  
M: Your dad. honey. He wantted to meet you in perrson .  
  
Ravi nearly dropped his phone. _Dad_. He had never seen his father in person before. His mother had always told him that he was a very busy man, and nothing more than that.  
  
 _Ping_.  
  
Looking back at his phone, Ravi saw another text from his mother - an image this time. When he tapped it it revealed an excited looking man standing in front of an airport, wearing a t-shirt with the Statue of Liberty on it and a camera around his neck. When he zoomed in, he saw an earpiece. His gaze shot to the drawer. Back to the picture. Back to the drawer. Hastily stuffing his phone into his pocket, he ran down to tech.


	2. Comfort from a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major comes down to the police station to comfort Ravi who's waiting for tech to see if his suspicions were right.

“Major, I need you to come down here,” Ravi spoke into his phone. “Right now. Please.” Before Major could even reply, Ravi ended the call and all but threw himself down on a bench. He couldn’t stop himself from checking the picture constantly, particularly the earpiece. He didn’t feel like looking at his father’s face on the picture yet. In between checking the picture, he looked up at the sign on the counter.

_On lunch break_   
_12:30 to 1:30 PM_   
_Emergency? Ring bell_

_Emergency._  What the hell  _was_  an emergency? Was this one? How could tech even get an emergency? He was about to throw the sign on to the floor when the door next to him opened. “Ravi?”  
  
“Major…” Ravi said. He was about to break down. Major quickly moved over to him and crouched down before him. It was clear that Major knew that something was off.  
  
“Hey,” he said softly, “what’s wrong?” Looking up at Ravi, he tried to make eye contact. Making it wasn’t all that difficult - keeping it, however, was. “Hey, just look at me,” he continued on the same soft tone when Ravi started breathing faster.  
  
“It- it’s probably nothing,” Ravi said, trying to brush it off, but not even believing it himself. “I just- there was a corpse and- and my dad was supposed to-”  
  
Right then, a large group of cops entered and stood at the counter, waiting for lunch break to be over. They chatted happily. “Come on,” Major said, “let’s go somewhere quiet.” Standing up, he got Ravi to follow his example and they exited. There weren’t many empty rooms at the police station but eventually they found an empty office. Major led Ravi to the luxurious sofa that was standing there and sat down next to him. He didn’t even need to push Ravi to talk.  
  
“We got a John Doe yesterday,” Ravi started, voice shaking. “Body completely messed up. Cuts and stuff. The man was wearing an earpiece.” Waiting for Ravi to continue at his own pace, Major did nothing but turn a little so that he was facing him even more.  
  
“Then, just ten minutes ago, my mum texts me and tells me my dad traveled here for a surprise visit. I’ve- I’ve never met the man before and-” Holding his breath for a few seconds, Ravi tried to make the stinging in his eyes go away.  
  
“And she sends me a picture of him, all excited about flying over to America. He was- he was wearing an earpiece.” He looked at Major with concern on his face. “He was supposed to be here a couple days before already. What if- wh-” He couldn’t get himself to finish the sentence and just looked down at the floor, but Major understood him.  
  
As Major put his arm around Ravi’s shoulder, Ravi said, “I know it’s probably just stupid coincidence, but… I mean, there must be thousands of men here wearing earpieces, right?” He turned to Major.  
  
“Yeah,” Major said, “if not more.” He wasn’t going to ask any more questions, not wanting his friend to think about it even more. Instead, they just sat there together, Major’s arm around Ravi’s shoulder, and Ravi barely being aware of it while looking at the floor again.  
  
It didn’t go unnoticed by Major that Ravi constantly kept checking his watch in addition to his phone now. “Ravi?” he said. “Maybe you should give me those. Trust me, if you keep checking the time it’ll only seem to go slower, and if you keep checking that picture, you’ll only convince yourself that it’s the exact same earpiece.” Ravi checked both the watch and the picture two more times before nodding. Major carefully took the phone out of Ravi’s hand, laid it down on the coffee table, and started removing his watch.  
  
It was clear that Ravi was okay with not doing it himself - he even preferred it at that moment. Major had been supporting Ravi’s wrist with his left hand and continued doing so after laying the watch down on the table, too. He knew that if Ravi didn’t want it, he’d simply pull back his wrist, but he didn’t. It may have looked a bit awkward but it comforted Ravi a little, in fact. Even though he was still staring at the floor, he knew he wasn’t alone because of this simple touch. Subconsciously he found himself doing something he’d never done before: he turned his wrist around and grabbed Major’s hand.  
  
Then they just sat there. Not saying anything, not doing anything. A faint smile had appeared on Major’s face when Ravi had grabbed his hand and it did not disappear. It meant the world to him that Ravi was comfortable with them having that kind of contact, for that man, too, meant the world to him.  
  
After quite a while of sitting in silence, Major said, “Ravi? It’s one thirty. Are you ready?” Swallowing hard, Ravi nodded once.


	3. The Start of the Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravi compares the earpiece that belonged to the John Doe to the one in his father's picture and gets coffee with Major, then makes a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had nooo idea how to write Vampire Steve so I hope it's accurate!

The group of cops was still standing at the counter when Ravi and Major arrived. They were being helped already, so Ravi suspected it wouldn’t be too long before they would be done. Major had given him his watch back, and even though there was a large clock above the counter, he kept checking it. 

At last, the cops left and Ravi stepped towards the counter. “Hi, uh, we dropped off an earpiece yesterday, belonging to a John Doe. Could I- could I have it back?” he asked.

“It’s currently being inspected,” Vampire Steve responded, pronouncing the last word slowly. 

“Oh, but it’s really important,” Ravi said. To this, Steve turned around and looked down a narrow hallway. Then he turned back to Ravi with a sigh, as though he’d rather be anywhere but there.

“It will only take an hour,” he said slowly. Ravi was now gripping the edge of the counter so hard his knuckles turned white.

“Alright,” Major said, stepping in and laying a hand on Ravi’s back, “why don’t you go and sit down, Ravi, and I’ll talk to him.” He offered Ravi a reassuring smile, and after one more glare at Steve, Ravi followed Major’s advice.

“Look, he really needs to see it,” Major said, turning to Steve. “His dad was supposed to be here a few days ago, but never showed up. All Ravi’s got is a picture of his dad right before his flight, and in that picture he was wearing an earpiece,” he explained. “He’s really worried. If he could only see this earpiece and compare it to the one in the picture, that’d be great.”

Steve looked at him for a few seconds, then at Ravi. Silently, he turned around and entered one of the rooms down the hallway. Soon he was back at the counter, placing the earpiece carefully on top of it. Ravi shot towards the counter with such speed that it was as though the bench had suddenly become burning hot.

Ravi quickly pulled up the picture again and zoomed in, then looked at the earpiece. It took him only a second to compare them. A huge feeling of relief washed over him as he realised that they definitely weren’t the same. “Thank you,” he said to Steve, who just squinted a bit and returned the earpiece.

“Must be a relief,” Major chuckled as they were walking back to the morgue. Ravi was still checking the picture every now and then, however, this time looking at his father’s face.

“Yeah.” He glanced at Major. “At least I know I haven’t performed an autopsy on him yesterday. How would that be for a first meeting?” He stuffed his phone in his pocket as they walked down the final steps. “But the thing is, my dad, yeah? I still haven’t seen him… obviously. He hasn’t contacted me  _ or _ my mum. Where could he  _ be _ ?

Hopping onto the desk chair that was standing near the computer, Major said, “Alright, well, your shift’s almost over, right? Let’s grab a coffee and see if we can find out more.” Ravi looked at Major for a second as he realised that Major knew the end time of his shift. Major didn’t seem to think he said anything odd.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Ravi said eventually. “Let me just clean the blood off of these tables.” As he was walking over to the cleaning supplies, he said, “You don’t have to wait here, if you don’t want to. I know it’s a bit… well, it’s not an area most people would choose to spend their free time in.”

Major didn’t get up, however. “Nah, it’s okay. I’ll keep you company.” With his face still turned away from Major, Ravi couldn’t resist a smile, though he didn’t know why.

* * *

As it turned out, the times of Ravi’s shifts weren’t the only things Major had memorised. When they arrived at the coffee shop, he told Ravi to find a nice table while he placed their order. Major just ordered Ravi’s favourite without having to double-check and that amazed Ravi when he took the cup that was offered to him.

“How do you know these things?” he blurted out, after taking a sip which confirmed that it was precisely his favourite. Major tilted his head a little.

“Know what, exactly?” he asked, taking a sip of his own coffee and making an odd face when he realised they must’ve forgotten to put sugar in it. 

“Those… things. When my shift ends, my favourite coffee…” Ravi replied, playing with the spoon. Major looked at him silently while pouring a little sugar into his own cup.

He needed a few more seconds to think before he spoke. “I… don’t know,” he admitted. Then he looked down at his coffee as he stirred it with a slightly confused facial expression. “Uh, I guess it was my subconscious memorising those things,” he continued. He took another sip of his coffee as he thought for a second. He’d never even been able to remember Liv’s favourite coffee…

His thought process was interrupted by a loud  _ ping _ , followed by Ravi rushing to pull his phone out of his pocket. “It’s my mum,” he said. Then he went quiet for a few minutes as he exchanged texts with her. “Here, look,” he said after that time, shoving his phone across the table and towards Major.

“Uh,” Major said, “she texted you that picture of a lightsaber?” Ravi looked at Major with wide eyes and snatched the phone back. He’d accidentally pressed the home button and showed Major his phone’s wallpaper instead. 

“I’m so sorry,” Ravi apologised with a blush as he shoved the phone towards Major again.

“Hey, no judgment from me,” Major chuckled and then looked down at Ravi’s phone. It didn’t take him too long to read all the exchanged texts.

M: Honney?

R: Yes, mum, sorry. Something came up. Haven’t seen dad yet.

M: How oddd. Let me check thhe site  again,

M: Flight arrrived safely . 

R: I’ll ask around. What flight was it and which airport?

The last text contained the flight’s and airport’s details. 

“Wow, uh, okay,” Major said, shoving the phone back. “So your dad’s flight arrived safely, but… your dad isn’t here, and he’s not in the morgue either,” he summarised. Ravi nodded. “Do you know his full name? We could ask around at the police station, and then at the airport.” Again, Ravi nodded quietly while staring down at his cup.

“Hey, we’ll find him,” Major reassured his best friend. “We will, Ravi, I promise.” Ravi only looked up when Major had put his hand on top of Ravi’s, which he quickly pulled back again upon seeing Ravi look at him. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” was all Ravi could say, not completely sure how to feel about it. 


	4. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravi and Major visit the airport, hoping to get some news regarding Ravi's father.

The police station was a total bust. No one had seen or heard of the man before, so an hour later Ravi and Major found themselves driving down to the airport. It was the perfect opportunity for Ravi to think about how bizarre the situation was. First he’d examined a corpse that he afterwards suspected was his father’s, whom he had never met. Then his best friend had comforted him, and he’d grabbed said best friend’s hand, something he only remembered about an hour and a half earlier, when his best friend had grabbed _his_ hand. Then they had gone to the police station to ask if anyone had heard of this man, and now they were driving to the airport to ask around about a man who may or may not have arrived. For all Ravi knew, the man could’ve stayed in England.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Major said, eyes still fixated on the road. Ravi looked sideways at him, then made some sort of grumbling noise as he looked down at his lap. “Raaavi?” he pressed on with a slightly cheerful tone, obviously trying to make the situation as pleasant as possible, despite the reason for the situation even existing at all.

Another grumble. “I don’t- I can’t really talk about it now,” Ravi said, turning his phone around in his hands. “I mean, I need to focus on finding my dad for now, you know.” Major nodded slowly.

“Well, always here if you need me,” he said with a quick sideways glance at Ravi. They’d stopped at a red light. Ravi was looking at the people crossing the street, wishing they’d just walk faster so they could continue driving.

Suddenly, a familiar song started playing over the car’s speakers. Major seemed to have turned up the volume of the radio and Ravi immediately recognised it to be a Bon Jovi song, one of his favourites. “I l-” he started, but was then distracted by the lyrics.

 _Yeah I, will love you, baby_ __  
_Always and I'll be there_ __  
_Forever and a day, always_ __  
_I'll be there, till the stars don't shine_   
_'Til the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme_

He didn’t finish his sentence anymore, instead acting as though he’d never said anything in the first place. Major had noticed, though. “You… loathe this song so much you can’t finish your sentence?”  he asked, eyes on his best friend.

“You _know_ I love Bon Jovi,” Ravi replied. “I was just… distracted, is all.” Major inspected him for a few more seconds with a frown until a car honked behind them. His gaze shot back to the traffic light which had already turned green. He quickly pulled up and didn’t say anything else until they arrived at the airport, not wanting to push Ravi.

* * *

“I’ll see what I can do for you,” the flight attendant they’d approached told them with a smile after they explained the situation. “I’ll make a few calls. Meanwhile, why don’t you get a cup of coffee and just try to relax?” she suggested with an annoyingly calm yet cheerful tone. Ravi was about to snark at her when Major nodded with a polite smile and guided Ravi to a nearby bench, hand on his back.

“ _Relax_ ,” Ravi repeated mockingly. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll just _relax_ , while waiting for news on my missing father,” he said, imitating the woman’s tone.

Major snorted, then cleared his throat, looking serious again. “Sorry.” A faint smile had appeared on Ravi’s face, though, which faded as soon as he heard his phone’s ringtone.

“Yes?” he said eagerly after taking the call, not bothering to look at the caller but hoping it was someone who had information about his father. He was quiet for a few seconds. “No, Liv, I didn’t- no, I swear, I didn’t throw it away.” Liv babbled on so hard Major could hear her voice.

“Liv, no- well, maybe the janitor threw it away? You know, beer bottle caps aren’t an ordinary thing to keep.” To this, Liv started to sound more aggressive, explaining that it had been a _very_ _pretty_  cap and that she _needed_ it back. “Liv- Liv, listen to me. We’ll find it, okay? Okay. Just, uh, maybe you should take your stuff home? You know, to keep it safe.” Ravi glanced sideways at Major who was trying his hardest not to laugh. “Okay. Yes, I will. Bye, Liv.” With a relieved expression he ended the call.

Finally, Major couldn’t hold his laugh anymore. “What kind of brain is she on?” he asked. “Sounds pretty intense.”

“Hoarder brain,” Ravi explained, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. “She wanted me to ask you if you’ve recently seen that candle she found. The one she brought to the morgue yesterday.”

Shaking his head, Major said, “I’ve never even seen it in the first place. What’d it look like?”

“It was purple. A boring one, really, I don’t even think it was scented.” He let out a small huff. He just couldn’t understand all the fuss over an _unscented_ candle.

Major grinned. “Well, let’s hope she finds i-” he started, but shut his mouth when the flight attendant walked over to them.

“Sir, what was your name again?” she asked Ravi with a smile.

“Ravi Chakrabarti,” he answered, looking uncertain.

The flight attendant seemed to be satisfied with that answer as she nodded. “Yes. Your father’s flight went without trouble. The plane arrived safely and on time, and your father left the plane along with all other passengers. I’m afraid we have no idea where he went after that.” She was still smiling and using that incredibly calm and cheerful tone which instantly killed the slightly good mood Ravi had achieved in her absence.

“Thank you,” Major said before Ravi could say something he’d regret. “We appreciate your effort.” She nodded, flashed them a brilliant smile, and moved away again.

“Well, that narrows it down,” Major said, turning to Ravi.

“Yeah, to all of America,” Ravi replied with a defeated tone. “He could’ve gone anywhere. He could’ve been _taken_ anywhere.”

Major put an arm around Ravi’s shoulders again, and before he knew it, Ravi leaned sideways against Major. “Let’s just start by checking the route from here back to our apartment, yeah? We’ll stop by diners, hotels. We’ll call Clive about filling in a missing person’s report as well,” Major suggested.

Ravi nodded, still looking sullen. Suddenly a little girl walked up to them, looking no older than four years. She just looked at them for a second before saying, “Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?”

This made both Major and Ravi quickly look at each other and Ravi immediately pulled back and sat up straight, face flushing red. Major was the one brave enough to reply after he had dropped his arm in a kind of disappointed manner. “Well, no,” he said on a gentle tone as he leaned down a little to look her in the eyes properly. “We’re best friends.” Looking at Ravi quickly, he continued, “And neither of us is a _girl_.” The little girl giggled as an adult came running up to her.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman said, picking up the little girl and holding her. “Ugh. Charlene here has only just learned that boyfriends and girlfriends are usually affectionate towards each other and now goes around asking _everyone_ if that’s what they are. Even when it’s obviously just two boyfriends. I hope she didn’t offend you.” Her eyes flashed to the big screen announcing the flights. “We’ve got to board. Again, I’m so sorry,” she said before hurrying off.

Major and Ravi couldn’t look at each other for what felt like the longest time. _Boyfriends?_ Ravi thought. He felt a weird feeling in his chest and stared at the floor. Again, Major was the one brave enough to speak up.

“Well, I, uh- I guess we should head to the car,” he said. Ravi nodded quietly, got up, and walked out of the building immediately. The fresh air that greeted him when he stepped outside helped him clear his mind a little - at least, enough to try and focus on the situation regarding his father. When he reached the car he just stood there awkwardly; Major had the keys.

Forbidding himself to think about the situation with Major, he got into the car when it had been unlocked. They didn’t speak a single word as they drove down to the first diner, but both noticed the heavy tension that filled the car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long day, Ravi gets the chance to think about what he's been feeling for Major.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters will be heavily focused on Rajor - this is the start, hope you like it!

“It’s like no one has heard about him,” Ravi sighed after he and Major entered the car again. It was long dark outside already and Ravi’s watch told him it was 11PM. He stifled a yawn as he took out his phone again and pulled up the address of the next hotel. “Alright, left turn at the end of the street,” he said. When there was no response he looked sideways at Major, whose head was resting against the headrest of his seat, eyes closed. Ravi watched him for a few seconds, noticing that his breathing was just fine and thus realising he had fallen asleep. 

He didn’t take his gaze off of Major. The man looked so peaceful and calm, which affected Ravi as well. The negative feeling he’d been experiencing for a few hours slowly started to fade away as he, too, felt his eyelids become heavy. 

They were parked in a big parking lot, with security cameras here and there and lantern posts causing a faint orange glow. Figuring that this location was safe enough, Ravi unbuckled his seat belt and repositioned himself a little so that he could reach Major’s seat. As quietly and gently as he could he adjusted the seat so that the man wasn’t sitting up straight anymore, but rather leaning backwards in the most comfortable sleeping position the car could offer. 

After pressing down the little button near the window of his door and thus locking the car, Ravi adjusted his own seat as well, took off his jacket, gently placed it over Major, and lied on his side, looking at his best friend. A million thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind, screaming for attention, the peaceful and calm feeling he’d felt just a minute ago starting to fade again. 

The whole situation was honestly incredibly confusing for him. It was as though he was experiencing at least a hundred feelings at once. He’d tried so hard to push all of it to the back of his mind during the day, instead focusing on finding his father. But now there wasn’t anything else he could do, and it allowed the feelings and thoughts to appear again. 

Confusing.  _ Too _ confusing. Because he had noticed this  _ something _ not too long ago, but had the  _ something _ perhaps been there for longer than that already? Was there even a  _ something _ or was he imagining it?

All he knew was that it had been Major who he had called when he was feeling bad, and not anyone else. It was Major’s hand that he had grabbed subconsciously in order to feel more comfort. It was Major who had devoted his day to helping him out. And then, Ravi realised that it had actually always been Major.

When he felt lonely he turned to Major for company. When he needed opinions he turned to Major. When he was happy about something he turned to Major. 

It was even more than that. It was Major who was always able to calm him down, whom he knew he could call any time, who had always provided the support and help he needed in whatever situation. A constant in his life.

It had always been, and still was, Major.

Hesitantly he reached out his hand a little, ever so lightly brushing the back of his index finger against Major’s cheek. A warm feeling appeared in his chest and a blush appeared on his cheeks when he realised that this  _ something _ had been going on for way longer. When exactly it had started he could not say; it was as though he had very slowly been dragged in and did not mind it at all. A faint smile followed when he came to the realisation that this  _ something _ was, in fact, feelings. 

While it felt like he had been dragged in slowly, the realisations hit him all but slowly. Maybe it was because he had known in the far back of his head. Maybe it was because it felt natural. The weird feeling he’d gotten when that girl and her mother thought they were in a relationship wasn’t a grossed out one; it was just the realisations hitting him hard and maybe, just maybe, being slightly disappointed that the two females hadn’t been right.

The usual worry he’d read about or seen in movies when someone started liking their best friend didn’t appear. After all, wasn’t a real relationship supposed to be pretty much just spending time with your best friend, but in an even more intense way?

The only thing he worried about would be the rejection he’d have to face once he would have the courage to tell Major about it. There had been some things that could have been seen as signs but he knew that that was just Major - it was who he was. He had a natural talent for making people feel at ease in whichever way possible. Deciding to push the worry about that to the back of his head as well, saving it for when it would be relevant, Ravi’s finger brushed against Major’s cheek once more before he drifted off to sleep, a deep sleep filled with many, many dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravi has a bad dream and acts on his feelings.

_ Chaos. Confusion. Corpses. It was all Ravi could see, hear, and feel. They had eventually found his father, in the basement of a shady bar. As soon as Ravi saw him he heard growling coming from behind him and turned around to see Major in full-on zombie mode. Major charged at him, left a couple of nasty cuts on his arm, pushed him aside, and charged at his father. “No!” Ravi cried out, but his father’s screams were louder.  _

With a loud gasp he woke up and bolted upright. He was panting, sweating all over, and feeling very disoriented. “Ravi?” Major asked. Ravi quickly turned around, shaking, at the sound of Major’s voice and then tried to back away from Major as much as possible, pushing his back against the car’s window.

“No, no, no,” Ravi muttered. “Leave me alone,” he mumbled, but Major couldn’t hear it and only got a little closer, a hand hesitantly stretched out, feeling the need to try and calm Ravi down. “Leave me alone!” he yelled. It made Major flinch and retreat quickly. 

“Ravi, it’s me,” Major said quietly after a couple of seconds, both hands raised to show he didn’t mean any harm. “I’m not going to hurt you, I never would.” Still shaking heavily, Ravi looked at the man whose facial expression radiated concern. “It’s just me,” Major said again.

The shaking finally decreased a little. Ravi didn’t yet trust the situation so he reseated himself a little and Major’s facial expression softened a little, but before he knew it he was slapped across the face by Ravi. “Ow!” he exclaimed, clasping his own hand to his cheek which was already starting to turn red. “What was  _ that _ for?!” he asked loudly.

“It’s really you,” Ravi breathed. 

“You had to test that by  _ slapping _ me?”

Ravi swallowed hard. It felt as though his throat was slightly being squeezed shut when the combination of last night’s thoughts and last night’s dream entered his mind. “Just- just a bad dream,” he said, looking at Major for another second and then turning to look through the windshield. There were only a few other cars on the parking lot, all of them empty.

“What was it about?” Major wanted to know, this time using a softer tone and repositioning himself a little so he could face Ravi better.

“Nothing,” Ravi responded. He didn’t want to bother Major with it, but when he glanced sideways and saw the man had raised an eyebrow at him, he said, “It was just- we’d found my dad in a basement somewhere, he’d been captured. Then there was growling behind me, and- and it came from you, and you were in full-on zombie mode. You attacked me and then pushed me aside to attack my dad.” He looked down at his hands. “So that’s why I slapped you… I needed to be sure you weren’t really a zombie and wouldn’t really go full-on zombie mode.” 

There were a few seconds of silence before Major spoke. “Ravi, you’re in a locked car with me with no one around, and you decided to try and see if I would go full-on zombie mode? I could’ve killed you had I really been a zombie!” His tone wasn’t accusing, but rather full of worry.

“Oh.” Ravi hadn’t thought about it like that yet. “Well…  _ yes. _ ” Major just looked at him for a few seconds with concern.

“I’m sorry about your dream. Dream zombie-me is a real dick,” he then said. “And we  _ will _ find your dad, but let’s hope it’s not in a basement. And I will most definitely  _ not _ attack you or your dad. Okay?” He tried to make - and keep - eye contact with Ravi.

Naturally, Ravi couldn’t look away this time, not after the previous night’s thoughts and realisations. His gaze then dropped to Major’s lips for a fraction of a second before he forced himself to look away. “No,” he mumbled to himself.

“No?” Major repeated. “No, we won’t find your dad?”

Ravi quickly looked at Major again. “That’s- that’s not what I-” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. It was all becoming way too much for him and he needed to get out. Therefore he unlocked the car, looked around for his jacket but saw that Major had put it on - that adorable  _ bastard _ , Ravi thought -, and stepped outside. The fresh air was an instant relief, albeit a small one. He immediately started walking with big steps, just needing to be anywhere but back there.

When he heard a car door open behind him, he didn’t turn around. When he heard Major calling his name, he didn’t turn around. When he heard a car door close and footsteps trying to catch up with him, he didn’t turn around.

However, when he heard a soft ‘Ravi, please’ coming from almost right behind him, he  _ did _ turn around. They were still on the parking lot, and it was still deserted. “Please just tell me what’s wrong, I hate to see you like this.”

To tell him what was  _ wrong _ ? What was wrong was that it was all going way too fast. He was supposed to wake up, get a cup of coffee, and then focus on finding his father, leaving the worry and the feelings alone until the time was right. He was  _ not _ supposed to wake up, yell at Major, slap him, and then walk away from him before he’d do something he’d regret. 

Major was standing at just an arm’s length and Ravi could see everything in his face. “What’s  _ wrong _ is that I can’t even focus on finding my dad, because of… because of… ugh.” He turned around again with his hands in his hair. He had wanted to keep it hidden so bad, but it was as though he just naturally opened up to this man.

“Ravi.” That soft tone and the feeling of Major’s hand on his shoulder made him unable to resist it any longer. He spun around, placed his hand on Major’s cheek, and kissed him with no hesitation. 

As expected, there was no response from Major to the kiss at all. Ravi slowly pulled back when he realised that there wasn’t going to be any either. “Because of  _ that _ .” Then he turned around and continued walking, but this time without Major’s footsteps following him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeee I'm sorry for the sad ending! I was going to make their first kiss all adorable and cute, but this just, you know, happened. They'll be alright, I promise!


End file.
